Co-founder Matt talks about Go Urban on his local news; watch on YouTube

This event has been traveling around the country, and Charlotte is its 5th stop. We’ll be collecting some photos and video of the event tomorrow.

Teams have already been elected. Race starts at 12:00 pm from Marshall park (directions).

Here’s how these races are broken down per the event’s official website:

A technology based city-wide scavenger hunt loaded with physical and mental challenges:

• Teams of 2 receive 4 initial clues via SMS text messaging
• Each clue leads to a specific GO point (location)
• At each GO point you will SMS a response to the clue, complete a physical or mental task, take a picture, and receive one additional clue via SMS text messaging
• Each Team will receive a total of 8 clues.
• Once all 8 clues are solved you race back to the finish line

Mandatory gear needed to compete:

• SMS capable cell phone
• Digital Camera (we must be able to view photos at finish line)
• Internet Access (phone, laptop, call a friend)

Recommended Accessories:

• Phone charger
• Comfortable clothes
• Running shoes
• Positive mental attitude

Acceptable modes of transportation:

• Walking
• Jogging
• Running
• Public Transportation

video © Clear; watch this video on YouTube

If you attended BarCamp 2 or Musak’s Brainery event in Charlotte recently, you’ve already used it.

Clear launched their 4G Wimax network in Charlotte this week. We’ve been given a chance to test their service for a few weeks now, and offer everyone a sneak peek on performance around town.

What does 4G mean? From our experience, it means near-cable-like internet speeds all around town, without being tethered to a wifi hotspot. And at prices comparable to the cable company as well. Needless to say we’re impressed.

Read on for our photo review including prices, and how you can help CLT Blog if you happen to be interested in signing up for new Clear service.

The basics

Clear is in partnership with a number of industry players, including Time Warner, Sprint, Intel and Google. As such, the same 4G offerings will be resold by both Time Warner and Sprint, using their own branding — much like Earthlink used to do with Time Warner. Sprint in particular is already taking a pretty proactive approach by hosting a Tweetup w/ Social Media Charlotte tonight.

Starting next month a massive ad campaign will roll out in the Charlotte area, including TV & radio spots, print and online advertising, and Clear-branded mobile offices driving around town with people working online inside.

Here’s a few of the TV spots to come:

The gear

Clear offers 4 different products: a standalone modem, a USB keyfob modem, a VOIP adapter and a mobile Wi-Fi access point.

The standalone unit is designed to take the place of a standard DSL or cable modem. It plugins into the wall for power, and displays its signal level using lights that run along the top.

The USB modem plugins directly into your computer, like the mobile internet devices you’re used to seeing from the cell phone companies.

All of these devices connect to Clear’s 4G Wimax network, which runs throughout the Charlotte metro area, from lake to lake. They’re also in a number of other metropolitan areas including Atlanta, Philadelphia, Portland, and rolling out along the same time as Charlotte: Greensboro and Raleigh. Clear is rolling out coverage all over the country, with many more locations becoming available throughout 2010 and beyond. Check out the coverage map on Clear’s website.

The speed

The difference here is speed. Clear advertises up to 6 Mbps downloads and 1 Mbps uploads. From our experience this is more or less accurate. With a full signal on campus at UNC Charlotte, we got almost 5 Mbps. At our home studio in Wesley Heights with a half signal, we get around 3 Mbps. Average upload speed at both locations was around .25-.35 Mbps, which is plenty for a good-quality video stream.

This is comparable to your standard Road Runner cable account. And even though I have the $10/mo. extra Road Runner Turbo account, I still only get marginally faster uploads, averaging around .5 Mbps.

The plans

Starting tomorrow, plans will be as follows:

Basic Home – $25/mo.

Standalone modem, speed capped at 1 Mbps down, 500 Kbps up

Fast Home – $35/mo.

Standalone modem, speed capped at 3 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up

Faster Home – $45/mo.

Standalone modem, uncapped speed

2GB Mobile – $35/mo.

USB modem, uncapped speed, limited to 2GB/mo. usage

Unlimited Mobile – $45/mo.

USB modem, uncapped speed & usage

Day Pass – $10

USB modem, uncapped speed, good for 24 hours

Their VOIP Adapter lets you use your connection for phone calls, including the ability to port your existing number over. It sells for $25/mo.

They also sell a mobile WiFi hub that plugs into one of their USB modems. It runs between $150-200 for the hardware as a one-time purchase, and works both on it’s 4-hour battery, ad plugged into power.

There are three plans that let you combine some of the various options and save money overall:

Voice Bundle – $50/mo

Standalone modem + VOIP adapter; speed capped at 3 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up; unlimited use and unlimited local + long distance calls

Pick 2 Unlimited – $55/mo

Any 2 devices, uncapped speed and usage

Pick 3 Unlimited – $75/mo

Any 3 devices, uncapped speed and usage

And for travelers, they offer a 4G/3G combo card that works on Clear’s 4G Wimax network, and switches to work on Sprint’s 3G network when out of range. This plan uses a more advanced USB key and sells for $70/mo.

How to try and/or buy

Clear has partnered with CLT Blog to offer their services directly to our readers, and contribute to CLT Blog in the process. If you’re interested in trying and/or buying one of these devices, drop us a line in the comments, or submit your info via the form below. Any purchases made through CLT Blog’s referral earns us a fairly substantial commission, which we’ll use to grow our site and services. Not to mention, we can get you $20 off your first month in return.

Proceeds earned will go towards growing CLT Blog, paying for equipment, and compensating our more active contributers.

We think it’s a pretty good deal for you and for us, we wouldn’t be talking about it here otherwise. If Clear’s new offerings interest you, and you’re thinking about buying or upgrading your mobile internet service, consider helping us out along the way.

We’ll be talking about Clear from time to time in the future, especially during some of our live video streams. In the meantime, we’re curious what you think.

Left: Anthony Foxx (D), right: John Lassiter (R). photos: James Willamor; view this photo on Flickr

Regardless who wins Tuesday’s election, Charlotte will have a new mayor. That’s because Pat McCrory, Charlotte’s mayor of 14 years, is not seeking reelection. Voters will also decide races for Charlotte City Council, city leadership in other Mecklenburg towns, and the CMS School Board.

What you need to know to vote after the jump.

Electing a new mayor

Both candidates for mayor, Republican John Lassiter and Democrat Anthony Foxx, have served as at-large members of Charlotte City Council.  A poll released on Oct. 27th by Public Policy Polling shows both candidates tied. We hosted online town hall meetings featuring reader submitted questions for the candidates earlier this year. You can watch our online town hall with Anthony Foxx and with John Lassiter.

Charlotte City Council will see changes

Candidates are vying for the seats left vacant by Foxx and Lassiter, while others try to hold onto their seats. There are four at-large seats on City Council that are voted on by the entire city, in addition to the City Council representative from each district of the city. Many of the district races were decided in the Sept. 15th primary, and only Districts 6 and 7 are contested in Tuesday’s election.

What you need to know to vote

Early voting ended Saturday with about 24,000 ballots already cast. Voting will take place tomorrow (Tues. Nov. 3rd) from 6:30AM until 7:30PM.

Need to find your polling location? You can find out by entering your name on the North Carolina State Board of Elections website.

Want to see a sample ballot for your district? Click on View My Sample Ballot on the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections website.

Need to find out more about the candidates? Check out CharMeckVotes.org

CLTblog will be covering the election results live. You can join the discussion on Twitter with the hashtag #cltvote

video: Justin Ruckman; watch this video in HD on Vimeo

The kind/creepy folks at Scarowinds were nice/evil enough to help/condemn a few of us into full-on monster attire/purgatory. Victims included myself, @rLper and @StoshaD.

Have a happy/cursed Samhain!

Are you trying to figure out what to do for your Halloween weekend?  How about a horse-drawn carriage ride through ‘historic and haunted’ Fourth Ward Uptown?  Southern Breezes Carriages will be offering tours this Friday and Saturday nights from 6-11pm leaving from the Square at Trade and Tryon.  Hear creepy tales about haunted Victorians, public executions, paranormal activity, ghost hunters, and the Uptown morgue. 

view these photos on Flickr

Your spine tingling journey will begin at Trade and Tryon and head West into Fourth Ward.  Your first stop will be at the Old Fire Station #4, relocated to 5^th Street years ago.  Hear how Firefighter Pruitt L. Black missed the slide pole and plunged to his death in 1934, but has refused to leave the premises since that fateful day.  He even leaves the scent of his cigar from time-to-time in the now-converted fire museum. 

Your next frightful stop will be along Poplar Street at the old St. Peter’s Hospital, a historic structure recently converted to condominiums.  But what few people know about is the many patients that died long ago at the hospital.  Where were the bodies stored?

Continuing along Poplar Street will bring you to 7^th and Poplar Street and the site of a quaint Victorian home haunted by a Bootlegger from years past.  The current owners of the house still wonder why faucets turn on and off, and wet footsteps mysteriously appear on the steps of the old house. 

As you wind deep into Fourth Ward, you will pass by the 1876 Overcash House situated at 8^th and Pine Streets.  Look for the candle that burns 24×7 in the turret, presumably to provide light for the ghost of a woman that broke her neck after plunging down the steps to her death years ago.  Ghost hunters have even confirmed paranormal activity in the home.  Don’t be surprised if you see her face looking out the turret window on Halloween night.

Your next stop will be at the popular neighborhood pub and restaurant, Alexander Michaels.  Find out why the staff of Al Mike’s refuse to go to the old Apartment upstairs at the former Berryhill grocery store.  Does E.W. Berryhill still haunt this popular watering hole?

Your horse-drawn carriage will then weave through Settlers Lane to the location of the old ‘hanging tree’ and the site of a reported 28 public executions back in the day.  You will find the tree downright spooky.

Finally, you will make your way back to Tryon Street but not before hearing about the balcony ghosts at the Old Carolina Theatre. Technicians report seeing ‘Fred’ from time-to-time kicking back taking in a show, or the old lady in tattered clothes in the projection room.  Maybe they like their old home as is, and not as a shiny new theatre and condo tower that is planned for that site.

Your carriage driver will tell you many more creepy stories along your journey that should put you in a Halloween mood.  And after your ghostly trek through the city, I am willing to bet that you will never see Uptown the same again.  Who says that Charleston and Savannah are the only old haunted cities of the Southeast?

The tales described above have not been proven to be factual.  Many of these ghost stories have been recreated as told in Ghost Stories of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County by Stephanie Burt Williams.  Thanks also go to James Willamor for the use of several Fourth Ward photos.

Metrolina AIDS Project’s offices at 127 Scaleybark Rd; photo: Matt Comer

On Oct. 23, the board of Metrolina AIDS Project (MAP) announced they’d voted to shut down the nearly 25-year-old HIV/AIDS service organization. Over at my day job as editor of Q-Notes, Charlotte’s LGBT newspaper, I was frantically trying to keep up with the story as it broke last week.

There’s no need to go into the details of the closure here. That’ll surely play out in local media in the days to come. Further, the nitty-gritty of the who, what, when and why leading to the organization’s closing are likely not of much concern for many of Charlotte’s HIV-positive individuals and their families. I can imagine that their most pressing concern will be what they’ll do and where they’ll turn once MAP finally ceases operations — a date that has not yet been determined.

Founded by six gay men in the height of the AIDS crisis in 1985, MAP grew in size, budget and services to become the area’s largest AIDS service organization —  the single-most important source of support and case management for people living with virus. Filling the void left by MAP’s departure will prove a difficult challenge for all sorts of organizations and leaders across Mecklenburg County.

Although there are several businesses in the area offering case management and HIV/AIDS treatment, only one other non-profit organization, the Regional AIDS Interfaith Network (RAIN), is offering the same sort of case management for which MAP had become the go-to local organization. The Regional HIV/AIDS Consortium offers testing, counseling and support. Belmont’s House of Mercy offers housing and intensive medical care to those living with advanced AIDS.

And while it is great the community has other resources, especially RAIN, you kind of have to wonder if these groups will be able to take in and adequately care for all of MAP’s displaced clients.

The Rev. Debbie Warren, RAIN’s executive director, told Q-Notes that her organization was preparing for an influx of new clients and strategizing on how best to keep folks from falling through the cracks.

“We’d certainly not like to see any big gaps,” she said, adding that her organization had already discussed with the county health department their “willingness to work with the health department and the HIV/AIDS staff members over there in any way that is needed to help respond to the consumers who are going to be needing to move their services over to RAIN or to the health department or to another organization in town.

Unfortunately, I see the bulk of responsibility likely falling on the shoulders of the Mecklenburg County government. MAP’s closure couldn’t come a worse time for clients, other non-profit groups or county agencies. In our current economic downtown, everyone is facing tighter budgets and reduced spending.

It’ll be interesting to see how the MAP closure is dealt with by local elected officials, health department officials, non-profit leaders, LGBT community organizations and area businesses serving those with HIV and AIDS.

photo: Massay; view this photo on Flickr

The lucky CLT Blog reader that win the pair of tickets to see Bruce Springsteen is:

• @zzazazz (Ed McDonald)

Send us a DM so we can tell you how to get your tix.

We selected random winners via Lucky Twit. Here’s the video capture of the results.

CLT Blog is the Center City 2020 Vision Plan’s new media partner. Our involvement, including the use of our advertising spaces, our live-blogging services during the event this evening, and the use of CLT Blog contributers to provide more in-depth coverage on the project’s official blog, has been sponsored by Charlotte Center City Partners. We thank them for their support of us and of community journalism.

In 1999, a plan was produced as a collaborative effort between the general public, Center City Partners, the City of Charlotte, and Mecklenburg County, to guide our Uptown development for the next decade. From that came concentrated support and direction for such initiatives as the redevelopment of the Metropolitan, the extension of Little Sugar Creek Greenway, the EpiCentre, UNC Charlotte’s uptown building, and the parks in progress in First and Third Ward.

Now, ten years later, the time has come to look to 2020. The Center City 2020 Vision Plan kicks off this evening with a workshop at the Charlotte Convention Center. Doors open at 5:30pm.

when: tonight @ 5:30
where: Charlotte Convention Center

The first half of the evening will feature interactive exhibits centered on soliciting ideas for 2020 and promoting community, including video booths, large postcard-holding hand sculptures, a big neighborhood map to pin your home on, and a caricature artist to draw you with your favorite place and memory in Charlotte.

The second half will feature some prepared video, and open up into a forum for submitting ideas.

That’s where we come in. If you can’t make it to the event this evening, head over to our Live page. We’ll be livestreaming and moderating suggestions from Twitter and the chat room. On Twitter, just use the hashtag #clt2020 and send over your ideas for the future of our Center City. You can even start right now, if you like.

For reference, “Center City” is being defined as a fairly wide area:

Follow @CenterCity2020 on Twitter for updates, and check out the official website.

Check out some posts written by CLT Blog contributers over at the Center City 2020 blog, highlighting some of the more successful initiatives from the 2010 plan:

• Desiree Kane: ImaginOn, UNCC Uptown & First Ward Park
• James Willamor: Metropolitan Midtown redevelopment and greenway
• Melissa Fortune: EpiCentre Entertainment & Retail Complex

photo: James Willamor; view this photo on Flickr

How to make money online, zero budget film making, iPhone app development, organizing social media, and how to make balloon animals were some of the sessions at Saturday’s BarCamp Charlotte 2. The un-conference allowed any attendee to pitch an idea for a session. Attendees then voted on the sessions they would like to see. The event was held again at Area Fifteen, located between Uptown and NoDa, where Charlotte’s first BarCamp was held in January.

Photo slideshow below, with more photos on the way.

photos: James Willamor; view this slideshow on Flickr

photo: James Willamor; view this photo on Flickr

Drummers, singers, fire dancers, and a comedy troupe entertained a large crowd of BarCamp 2 pre-party attendees at Parkwood Green. Counter Culture Coffee was on hand to provide free coffee drinks. The location hopes to be the future home of Not Just Coffee coffeehouse, and plans were on display as well. Photography by Bryan and Jennifer Shields was on display next door at the roofless building. The pre-party took place Friday evening, and BarCamp 2 took place at Area Fifteen on Saturday. Photos from BarCamp to be posted soon.

View the slideshow below:

photos: James Willamor; view this slideshow on Flickr